About Villalobos Brothers
The Villalobos Brothers are a Mexican trio of violinists, singer-songwriters, composers, and multi- instrumentalists. They have performed at the Latin Grammy Awards, Carnegie Hall, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations, the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, the New York Mets field at Shea Stadium, and other historic venues.
The Villalobos Brothers have accompanied and collaborated with many international artists, including Morley, Paloma San Basilio, Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains, Eddie Palmieri, Graciela, Dolly Parton, León Gieco, Leni Stern, César Camargo Mariano, Lila Downs, Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz, Pierre Boulez, Alberto Vázquez, Johnny Ventura, Dan Zanes and Rafael Escalona. Their first solo album, "Villa-Lobos", was released in 2009.
The Villalobos Brothers were born and raised in Xalapa, Mexico, an hour away from the port city of Veracruz. They spent their childhood listening to their grandmother, Cristina Vásquez play music for enjoyment after the work day, accompanying dancers at a country fandango, or playing for guests dining in the many coastal restaurants. The trio learned the violin at a young age, and soon learned to sing and play other instruments, including the guitar, the piano and the thin-bodied guitars by the name of jaranas. They eventually moved on to specialize in classical violin and composition, which further developed into the creation of their own style of playing, called "Fast-Chatting Violin" which involves a rapid succession of notes and percussive sounds that imitate the human voice.
From 1990 to 2000 they studied classical violin with Carlos Marrufo Gurrutia, and composition and counterpoint with Eugeniusz Sleziak Kandora, Roberto Lira López, and Ryszard Siwy Machalica.
The Villalobos Brothers were considered child prodigies and had early soloist debuts with the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra playing the Sibelius, Brahms, and Saint-Saëns violin concertos. They also had solo appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru.
In 2000, the U.S. Department of State awarded the eldest brother, Ernesto Villalobos, a Fulbright Grant to carry out graduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Patinka Kopec and Nils Vigeland. In 2001 he performed at Master Classes led by Pinchas Zukerman and Glenn Dicterow and travelled to Israel to study with Shlomo Mintz.
Map & Directions To Venue
